Thunder Force, the latest collaboration from husband and wife team Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy, is soaring to Netflix on April 9th. The action-comedy stars McCarthy as sassy Lydia who, for one reason or another, has become estranged from her childhood friend Emily (played by Octavia Spencer). They reunite as adults at a time when supervillains are terrorizing their city, and a formula made by Emily's lab turns the two ordinary women into extraordinary superheroes.
The trailer has shown an action-packed, explosive superhero comedy with the sort of slapstick gags fans have come to expect from a McCarthy vehicle, but it's also revealed itself to be potentially fat-phobic and one-note. While it's refreshing to see a mainstream superhero movie with two plus-sized female leads at its center, there are aspects about it that make fans wonder if it will actually be something to laugh with or laugh at.
Excited About: Melissa McCarthy And Octavia Spencer
With their combined comedic timing, charismatic personalities, and undeniable screen presence it's no wonder fans are excited about seeing Melissa McCarthy team up with Octavia Spencer. Both women are known for standing out even in sprawling ensemble casts of capable performers, like McCarthy in Bridesmaids and Spencer in The Help or The Shape of Water.
The trailer showcases the women's collaborative chemistry as leads, and even though their styles of humor are different, (Spencer tending to be more acerbic, McCarthy more physical), they seem to have found a vehicle for both of their strengths to shine through.
Gives Us Pause: One-Joke Wonder
One of the most prominent running gags in the movie seems to be that both McCarthy and Spencer's characters are women over 40 who don't fill out their skintight costumes the way society thinks they should, and who are considered "too old" to be effective crime fighters. Bobby Cannavale's villain even explicitly asks at one point in the trailer, "How can we not stop two chicks in their forties?"
Robert Downey Jr. was over 40 when he became Iron Man, Mark Ruffalo was over 40 when he became Bruce Banner, and Zoe Saldana passed into her 40s while filming Guardians of the Galaxy, suggesting that this running gag that threatens to overtake the entire movie is not only patronizing but humorless. And while it's great to see two heroines kicking butt at any age, making it the primary focus diminishes what else they have to offer as protagonists.
Excited About: Focusing On The Details Of Superhero Life
At one point in the trailer, McCarthy's character is holding a bus over her head in an incredible feat of strength while Spencer's character tries to get her attention. She can't hear her over the sound of holding the bus over her head, and when she tosses the bus into the air, the screams of passengers can be heard as it flies out of view.
This makes it seem like the movie will pay attention to the collateral damage of superhero shenanigans, much like how serious superhero movies like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice try to address the cost of human lives and property that occurs in the aftermath of every major superhero/supervillain showdown.
Gives Us Pause: Fat-Phobia
As promising as it is to see overweight women being represented, there's always the notion that their escapades and circumstances will be played for laughs (even Aquaman's Jason Momoa got body-shamed). There's a scene towards the end of the trailer for Thunder Force where the women have difficulty getting out of a very low, compact sports car, obviously played for laughs.
It remains to be seen whether or not the concept of uplifting the stories of plus-sized superheroes will be a cause of laughing with them because of some perceived truth in their experiences, or at them because of the audience-derived correlation between living-while-fat and hilarity.
Excited About: Bobby Cannavale As A Supervillain
Though he's already been in a superhero movie (Ant-Man), Bobby Cannavale has yet to really put his charisma and rakish charm to good use. As "The King," the main antagonist of Thunder Force, he'll finally have a part that highlights his intimidating but nevertheless eccentric personality.
If viewers only know him from lovable stints on Will & Grace or in The Station Agent, Cannavale has recently been seen playing outrageous baddies and anti-heroes in TV series like Boardwalk Empire and Vinyl, but it's his turn as the main antagonist of the action-comedy Spy that seems most represented in the Thunder Force trailer, where he gets to throw around quirky one-liners along with menacing glares.
Gives Us Pause: Gimmicky
There have been some truly rollicking superhero comedies that combine the action and excitement of the superhero genre with a little tension-decompressing humor, like Shazam!, The Incredibles, or The Meteor Man. Much of their success comes down to shrewd marketing gimmicks that are clever and intriguing.
Then there have been spoofs, like Mystery Men or Superhero Movie, whose releases only prove that there's a fine line between poking fun at the superhero genre and being the movie being poked fun at. If Thunder Force relies on a single-note gimmick for too much of its marketing, without enough additional heart and complexity, its thunder might be stolen.
Excited About: Body Positivity
Thunder Force has been marketed as a "plus size superhero movie," hoping to uplift the stigma of the "fat superhero" seen in movies like Avengers: Endgame where Thor, overcome by grief, eats and drinks himself into obesity, the process peppered with laughs at the expense of his new body.
While some fans thought it was liberating (especially since Thor didn't suddenly slim down when the Avengers assembled again), others thought it wasn't as revolutionary as it could have been. The two leads won't be reduced to wisecracking side-kick, but will actually be the ones jumping into action.
Gives Us Pause: The Plot
In a genre where radioactive spiders grant teenagers superpowers, there's a built-in suspension of disbelief with every superhero movie, but the best ones of recent memory have all found ways to be plausible, if not probable, and Thunder Force seems to be teetering in the chasm between the concepts.
The plot is simple enough; Spencer's Dr. Emily Stanton devises a formula to make anyone a superhero, McCarthy's Lydia accidentally takes it, and they decide to roll with the outcome and protect their city. The plot seems to exist as a reason to knit all the gags together and doesn't seem to need to be any more complex than that.
Excited About: Representation
The superhero genre is one that continues to broaden its inclusivity by representing a variety of people with its casting choices. By having two plus-size female leads (one of whom is a Black woman), these identities are being represented in an entertainment landscape still lacking in diversity.
Even in today's cape and cowl media, an overwhelming amount of superheroes are wealthy white men like Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne, and so by having ordinary people become superhuman, different people can be seen as powerful, not just super-chiseled body types.
Gives Us Pause: Humor
While Spencer and McCarthy are both on the movie poster and featured prominently in the trailer, this seems like a McCarthy vehicle through and through. It's penned by her husband (with whom she's collaborated with for Tammy, Spy, and Life of the Party), and their working relationship seems to be where her particular comedic stylings are front and center.
McCarthy's Lydia is an unfiltered, boorish woman who says inappropriate things and forces her crass personality on everyone around her, which is to say, it's a lot like most of the roles McCarthy plays. Spencer is her straight-laced partner, who seems to be filling in for Sandra Bullock's character in The Heat. For anyone who doesn't like McCarthy's brand of humor, this movie will offer nothing compelling, and for those who like it, it will be more of what they've come to enjoy.